Ceres celebrates the enactment of California’s 2024-2025 state budget, which includes funding to implement the state’s landmark climate disclosure laws passed in 2023.
The funding, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday, is essential to the prompt implementation of SB 253 and SB 261. The two laws, collectively referred to as the Climate Accountability Package, will set a uniform standard for thousands of public and private companies that do business in California to report their climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions throughout their value chains. By including these funds, the budget ensures the California Air Resources Board can begin that work in a timely manner, ultimately giving companies and investors more regulatory certainty.
“We are excited that California can now get to work on implementing the most important state legislation for climate risk management and corporate transparency ever passed in the United States,” said Steven Rothstein, managing director for the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. “Ceres thanks Gov. Newsom and the legislature for ensuring that investors, consumers, and stakeholders across the economy will benefit from the information these landmark policies will deliver.”
Ceres also joins leading business groups and climate advocates in opposing new legislation proposed Friday by the California Department of Finance that would delay the implementation of the Climate Accountability Package by two years.
“Ceres urges state leaders to reject efforts to push back the implementation of these landmark laws. The economy cannot afford any delay in access to the critical insight these laws will provide into how companies are managing the vast financial threats posed by the climate crisis,” Rothstein added.
Ceres, a co-sponsor of SB 253 and SB 261, led efforts to pass and implement the laws, including by highlighting support from major corporations that are seeking consistent and standardized policies to deliver the climate information their investors demand. In April, 35 businesses sent a letter to California lawmakers and Gov. Newsom emphasizing the importance of including funding in the 2024-2025 state budget to meet the need for standardized and consistent disclosure guidance.
About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and sustainable world. United under a shared vision, our powerful networks of investors and companies are proving sustainability is the bottom line—changing markets and sectors from the inside out. For more information, visit ceres.org.